Bandages and Memories
by penchou
Summary: Pushing himself a little too hard, Levi accidentally gets himself bruised. He doesn't expect a certain medic to be up so late in the infirmary though. [winterrw2018 Day 4 - Fantasy/Bruise]


He's getting restless.

Nights filled with long deserved sleep continue to elude him. His inability to sleep worsening every day and Levi grunts to himself in frustration every time it happens.

Usually, he likes to drink tea in order to keep him calm enough to go to sleep but unfortunately it hasn't been helping as of lately. Other times when it becomes unbearable for him to keep his eyes close even when the rest of his body denies the rest it needs, he forcefully lies down in bed in a futile attempt to sleep earlier than usual. Rest comes but mostly at a later time.

Tonight is not those nights.

Granted that he is currently sparring with a training dummy in the quiet and dark training grounds. The only source of light being the moonlight to guide him as he lands another hit on the stuffed dummy, dust flying off as his fist collides with the worn out equipment.

He lands another hit on the stomach.

It is also often that he finds himself training when faced with the inability to doze off for the night. It is actually less a way for him to keep himself fit and ready for battle especially in the rare case of hand to hand but it is more of a release of pent up thoughts and emotions.

Another punch towards the chest.

Levi is not really a man of many words, being a silent type and all, but he is more of a person who believes that actions speaks louder than words. Words, as delicate and poetic it may seem, can always be used against the person and therefore can manipulated.

A roundhouse kick to the head.

Actions, on the other hand, has a much more impactful effect on other people especially for someone like him. Which is why in the dark of the night when all he could hear and feel is his heart beating harder in his ears, the stinging pain of his fists as it connects with the training equipment, and the quick shifts of his body as he changes stances to keep up with appearance like he is against another person and not his thoughts.

He aims his elbows downwards to the dummy's shoulder joint.

He doesn't like to do this in front of the others, not liking of how unprofessional it seems that he is using this as a coping mechanism to exhaust himself any further. Levi thinking of how childish he must be acting just because he doesn't know what to do in the middle of the night.

Nope, can't let the others know.

Which was his last thought when he accidentally slips on the dusty floor trying to land another kick to the shin this time. Therefore losing his footing and hitting the ground with an audible gasp as he tries to save himself from the fall, twisting his just so that he will fall on the facefront and propping his hands quickly on the ground only for it to slip yet again.

"Shit." he curses, bringing up his hands to inspect the damage once he's sitting up straight.

Looking at the now bruising wrist, he winces at the sight and at the pain beginning to spike. Luckily for him, the other hand wasn't so bad. Only a few scrapes at worst. Sighing, he knows this calls for a visit to the infirmary.

He hopes that no one is up.

* * *

Levi was soon mistaken.

The infirmary is not empty, in fact there is only one other person occupying the space and that's Petra.

Petra who has always seem to cause a certain part of him to spark because she has always been full of life and too stubborn on her beliefs for her own good. Petra who is the only soldier capable of providing legitimate medical care to their comrades because she had signed up as such but he has chosen her not only for it but because she had been one of the best cadets in her batch.

And Petra who is now staring at him with confusion before landing her eyes on the injured hands he has been careful not to move too much, her brows now furrowed with sternness.

"What happened?"

Straight to the point as usual. She has been a stubborn one for treating her comrades.

"It's nothing." Levi mutters, making his way to her space now that the cat is out of the bag. Of course, the only smart decision would be for him to be treated by her.

Petra clicks her tongue at him, annoyed at his dismissiveness but she chooses not to comment on it and instead leads her Captain to a nearby medical bed for him to sit on. She quickly inspects his injuries, taking note of the swelling red of the appendage and the scrapes on the other. Petra faintly touches his wrist, and hears the quiet hiss from the other.

The medic looks up to her Captain, a frown on her face and asks again in a firm tone. "What happened?"

Levi turns away from her gaze, a bit bothered by the stern look directed at him. He knows that he should answer her but there is something about her current mood that makes him want to deny. Though one look again at the already irritated look of his subordinate, he submits a reply.

"I fell down." He lamely answers.

"You fell down." She repeats, her tone hardening even more.

"Okay, I was up late training and I accidentally lost footing and this happened." Levi gives in, annoyed that this girl got it out of him, returning his eyes back to her to see her reaction. Needless to say, she was pleased at his explanation and says nothing more.

"Alright," she relents and steps back away from him, "just sit here while I get a bag of ice."

Having not much of a choice, Levi lets her get all the necessary materials and sits back while watching her from afar. She's rummaging through her kit, and takes out what used to be a bandage. After that, she heads towards the available cooler, a pouch in hand, and proceeds to get the much needed ice. Petra leaves the infirmary afterwards but comes back with some other items.

This took her a few minutes and while he might be getting tired with the increasing waiting period, Levi likes that she doesn't bother to start conversation. The silence a comforting one.

The question only comes up to his mind when she's finally tending to his wounds, gently cleaning both his hands with a clean wet rag from where she got outside. The bag of ice and the bandages neatly placed beside him.

"Why the military?"

Petra suddenly stops her ministrations and Levi can feel her tense for a second before she's back to normal, bringing up her head to glance at him then goes back to work. "Pardon?"

"Why the military?" He repeats. It's a genuine question, really. He knows that she signed up to be a field medic but she never really explained why even when their squad begged her to.

The captain hears her sigh under her breath, dropping the used rag to his other side to pick up the small bandages. He waits patiently and watches her.

"My father wanted me to become a doctor." She starts, cleanly bandaging up his scraped wounds. She takes up the ice bag in her hand and holds his injured wrist on the other, gently pressing the cold compression. Petra looks up at him, this time a distant twinkle in her amber eyes. "I never really cared for it honestly."

He stares right back at her and points out. "But you're a medic."

She chuckles lightly at that. "Yeah, I'm a medic."

"How?"

"He took me to multiple med schools, made me study how to become one and now here I am applying my knowledge." She says sarcastically before smiling sadly, letting the last sentence fade in the air

They stay silent for a moment, letting the newfound knowledge settle in. Petra is still pressing the cold compression against his bruised wrist and after a what seems to be nearing half an hour when it really is just five minutes, she breaks the silence.

"He never really approved of me joining the military. We had a huge fight before I signed up though and we haven't really talked since." She scrunches her nose at the memory, remembering the disappointed look on his face. "Even if I told him I'll sign up as a field medic, he didn't take it lightly."

"I guess I just found my purpose in serving here than being comfortable inside the Walls."

Levi does not say a word, knowing that she's not exactly finished talking.

"Personally, I'm quite thankful he tried teaching me to become one." She laughs, lowering the ice bag and reaches for a bigger bandage. Petra carefully wraps his bruised wrist, tight enough for it to be held steady but not enough for it to worsen. "I like to think that his fantasy of having a doctor for a daughter turned out half true."

She falters slightly in her movements, but acts chipper to cover it up, and removes her hands from his arm once she's sure that it is properly cared for

"There, all fixed up!" The medic steps back away from him, a beam on her face and lets him examine his now bandaged wounds. The captain nods his head with approval.

"Just don't overwork it too hard and make sure you rest too." she instructs, going back to her desk.

Levi lifts himself off the bed and heads for the exit, not before giving the medic some thanks.

"Petra," he calls out. Said girl turns to him, surprised that he still hasn't left.

"Next time after the mission, give him a call." He smiles at her, surprising her. "Your father would have loved to know that their daughter is doing well."

She returns the gesture, only bigger and brighter. "Okay."


End file.
